STFC Media Poll: Where do you go first and who do you trust?

Back in September Ron Smith reported on the variety of media choices available to fans to receive news of Swindon Town. A few months later he has a poll to ask have your media habits changed, where do you go first and who do you trust?

For decades the Swindon Advertiser has been the single and reliable source for daily news from the County Ground. However, this dominance has been shattered in recent years through the emergence of social media and, importantly, the emergence of two local news outlets – FLIC Wiltshire and Swindon Link Sport. Both of these two eager newcomers place reporting on Swindon Town at their heart of a strategy to build and retain their reader share.

Our simple poll about media options for Town fans in September asked one question “where do you get your daily news about STFC?” in order to ascertain the shift from the Advertiser. The result highlighted how Town fans turn to a variety of sources, with both Twitter and Swindon Advertiser being the first point of call for around 50% of respondents. Newcomers Swindon Link Sport and FLIC Wiltshire polled a respectable percentage share, while the club website is used by 1 in 20 as their daily news source.

But a few months later, and after Link Sport are more established having reported they had received their 500,000th page view & 45,000th unique user on Monday, I’m keen to understand how your media habits have changed. Have you switched from one outlet to another, where do you go first and who do you trust?

The poll will close on Friday 9th January and the results of this poll will be reported week commencing 12th January.

Please answer each question in-turn and click the ‘VOTE’ button each time. So you’ll press the ‘VOTE’ button eight times.

I prefer Link currently over the Adver. Some of the usual typographical mistakes but i enjoy reading Sam and Andy’s coverage, the Adver hasn’t been the same and the comment section on there makes me despair at times.

Before Link, I wanted FLIC to be good but just find the website difficult to navigate and get around stories.. there doesn’t seem to be one main STFC page with a list of articles like there is on Link and the Adver.

BBC Sport coverage of swindon is usually 4 days behind, can’t ever remember them breaking any news online, radio coverage is good for match days though.

Usually you Twitter for my start point. Sam M and Andrew S-D offer great coverage from there. How long it last with so much coverage may depend of STFC. If they go up it could be s godsend with extra readership.

The Adver is ingrained as the first point of call. I shall always buy it every day… even though the current writing, reporting, spelling, and just overall quality is only a patch on what it was.

It’s position as a daily, hard copy paper is unsustainable through it’s current standards and I fear it will bite the dust in it present form within the next few years. It’s painful to watch it’s death throes.

Link Sport is now by far my most trusted source, mainly because the quality performers and out-and-out Swindon fans who used to be at the Adver are now bringing their professionalism to this stage. FLIC is OK, and rates monitoring throughout the day.

And I consider myself very lucky to have such a match day commentary source as BBC Wiltshire. Long may that continue, but I fear pressure on local BBC resources may one day see this reduced to a shadow of what we enjoy at the moment.

I start with a look at Link but then pick and choose from the three via Twitter. I was hoping that three sites might mean different content, perhaps even some analysis but really it is the same quotes on every site. BBC do break all the news though.

Everyone has their own Dan The Fan now too. So that is easy to ignore. That and lots of sub-Guardian lists on Link.